A deadly lecture hall shooting at Brown University has taken a darker turn as investigators examine ties to the killing of a prominent MIT physicist.
Authorities say the suspect in the Brown campus shooting may also be responsible for the murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro in nearby Brookline, Massachusetts, just two days later, Fox News reported
The violence erupted on the afternoon of Saturday, December 13, around 4 p.m., inside Room 166 of the Barus & Holley building at Brown University. The masked man burst into an economics review session for the course “Principles of Economics,” shouted something incoherent, and then opened fire with what appears to have been a 9mm weapon.
Tragedy Strikes Brown During Study Session
Two students—Ella Cook from Alabama and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov of Virginia—were killed in the assault. Nine more students suffered gunshot wounds, and as of Thursday, six remained hospitalized; one of those is in critical but stable condition.
Law enforcement recovered 9mm shell casings from the scene, but the absence of security cameras inside the building left investigators relying heavily on external footage. A surveillance camera east of campus captured a person of interest fleeing the area minutes after the shooting.
In an era when colleges are spending millions on DEI departments and student wellness coaches, the absence of basic security measures in a classroom is as baffling as it is negligent.
Vehicle Trail Adds Clues Across State Lines
The investigation took a sharp turn when law enforcement linked a gray Nissan Sentra with Maine license plates—found abandoned near a Salem, New Hampshire storage facility—to the Brown shooting. Scanner traffic also revealed that police were looking for a Nissan Sentra in connection with a Massachusetts homicide.
That murder occurred on Monday, December 15, when MIT’s Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro was discovered in his Brookline apartment with multiple gunshot wounds. The 47-year-old plasma science expert and recent recipient of a national research award was pronounced dead the next morning.
Officials have not released information on the weapon used in Loureiro’s killing. But considering the timeline and the matching vehicle model at both crime scenes, speculation about a shared suspect is no longer just internet chatter—it’s an active line of inquiry.
Investigators Pursue Potential Link Between Crimes
FBI Boston’s Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks initially urged caution, saying earlier in the week that “investigators were sharing intelligence regarding both cases but had not come up with a clear tie.” As of Thursday, new information may have altered that view.
WPRI-TV reported that high-ranking law enforcement sources now confirm there is evidence connecting the two incidents—though they stopped short of detailing what that evidence is. For now, the public is left reading between the lines.
Unverified reports have noted similar-looking Nissan Sentras seen at both locations, but with different license plates. If those reports prove valid, it could point to deliberate efforts by the suspect to mask his tracks across state lines.
Nation Watches As Authorities Close In
Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the horrific act, calling the shooter an “animal” and demanding swift justice. He added that there was “no motive yet” uncovered in the Brown University shooting.
He wasn't wrong. As usual, motives don’t fit neatly into the ideological talking points of the media class—and maybe that’s why they’re dragging their feet on coverage. Two bright students died, and yet the silence from the ivory towers has been deafening.
As cities and campuses increasingly fall victim to elitist distractions and performative safety policies, the basic question of public security gets buried under paperwork and buzzwords. Perhaps now, with blood on the floors of one of the Ivy League’s proudest institutions, that’s starting to change—though it shouldn’t take tragedy to spark action.
